Assessing Private
Sector Involvement in Education Reform
Latin America
November 2000– May 2001
 PREAL (Programa de Promoción de la Reforma Educativa
en America Latina/Partnership for Educational Revitalization
in the Americas Program) is a USAID-sponsored regional
program that worked with a network of public and private
organizations in Latin America to promote regional education
reform. Through its Washington, DC and Santiago offices,
PREAL collaborated with 22 associated centers in 14 Latin
American countries to improve the quality and equity in
education throughout Latin America. PREAL promoted and
encouraged the implementation of improved education policies
through regional working groups, conferences and workshops,
publications, and electronic communications networks, including
the Internet. In 2001, USAID requested BEPS assistance
in evaluating PREAL’s achievements since its inception
in 1995.
The BEPS assessment team was tasked
with exploring three primary issues: the rate of the
program’s success
in building public and private sector support for educational
reform, the program’s ability to encourage public
and private sector partnerships in improving education,
and PREAL’s success in identifying and disseminating
best educational policies and procedures. The evaluation
stressed transparency and optimal stakeholder participation
in the evaluation process. Data collection activities included
an extensive review of project materials and one-on-one
interviews with program coordinators in Washington, DC
and Santiago, as well as site visits and interviews in
Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru.
The BEPS team identified
similarities and differences in PREAL’s operations within countries as well as
general lessons that could be applied to PREAL as a whole.
The assessment allowed USAID, PREAL, and the various stakeholders
to gauge PREAL’s progress in meeting its goals both
on a country and regional basis. This evaluation made it
possible for the program to continue to adapt its activities
so that they optimally affect education policy and the
education reform process in Latin America.
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